Small Organizations, PUK-KDP Conflict over Distribution of Oil Profit

The Kurdish rebel forces in northern Iraq is the sole force that can wage a military battle with Saddam Hussein`s government. They are the Northern Alliance of Iraq.

The problem is that the Kurds are divided between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), each opposed to the objectives of the other. After Iraqi government withdrew after the Gulf War in 1992, these two factions united and established a parliament and an independent government, but they split again in 1994 and have been fighting for four years.

The PUK and the KDP joined a cease-fire agreement in Washington D.C. in 1998. Afterwards, the PUK leader Jalal Talabani has taken the region around the Iranian border while KDP leader Massoud Barzani has taken the district around the Turkish border. Although the enmity between the two sides has to do in part with ideological differences, the real reason has to do, according to the BBC, with problems with distribution of profits from oil.

The reason why the U.S. has failed to get any results after 10 years of fighting against Hussein is because the opposition forces inside Iraq have been scattered like sand particles. Although there is the Iraqi people`s council (PNC) abroad, without military force, it remains ineffective.

The reason why the U.S. sent a team of high-ranking officials this time around is because it wants to unite these divided forces.

Although the U.S. sent a team of representatives twice, once in February and once in June, it did not get a clear reply from the two factions. The two sides were, however, receptive to joint military opposition against the Iraqi government because of their concern about Hussein`s attacks.

After September 11, however, their attitudes appear somewhat different from before. Former KDP prime minister Barham Sali said, "The geopolitical situation in the Middle East is changing fundamentally and this change demands that we reach a definite resolution."

Yoon Yang-Sup lailai@donga.com